Following are NCR reader responses to recent news articles, opinion columns and theological essays with letters that have been edited for length and clarity.
Synodality's challenge to Latin Catholics
Thank you for the generous and competent effort that the National Catholic Reporter has made to keep the Synod on Synodality on everyone's radar. I myself have benefitted from the Synod coverage by Christopher White and others.
My high regard for your work moves me to respond to the story "The Catholic Church needs married priests now" (ncronline.org, March 7). When we remember that the Catholic Church is made up of 24 Catholic Churches, 23 of which ordain married men, it becomes clear that the Catholic Church already has married priests. The only Catholic Church not to ordain married men is the Latin Church. Headlines like this communicate a lack of awareness of the Catholic Churches beyond the borders of the Latin Church, and as a result, implicitly and profoundly exclude Eastern Catholicism. While Eastern Catholics may be accustomed to this kind of exclusion on the part of Latin Catholics, such a lack of sensitivity reveals an attitude that the Holy Spirit might be inviting Latin Catholics to leave behind, especially in this time of Synod.
It might be helpful if Latin Catholics exercise considered moderation when making assertions about "the need" to have a married clergy. All of the Eastern Catholic Churches have a married clergy and, as a result, have indispensable wisdom to offer Latin Catholics as we entertain suggestions to change the discipline of the Latin Catholic Church in this regard. The real "need" right now might be to listen to this wisdom in a synodal spirit.
SR. MARIE KOLBE ZAMORA OSF, S.T.D.
Rome, Italy
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Science and Catholic faith intertwined
In his article "Pontifical universities' online course to unpack Francis' ecological teachings", Brian Roewe provides an important reminder that Catholic schools need to embrace the message of Pope Francis in Laudato Si' (ncronline.org, March 15-28). Science and our Catholic faith are not counterpoised, they are intertwined. St. Ignatius of Loyola recounted in his autobiography that "The greatest consolation that [he] received ...was from gazing at the sky and stars", and the Jesuit tradition of scientific contributions has continued from Giovanni Battista Riccioli in the 1600s up to the present with Guy Consolmagno.
The surest way to fulfill the corporal works of mercy; feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless and comforting the sick is through science. Our Catholic universities should embody the challenges put forth by Pope Francis in Laudato Si' and serve as epicenters of science education and research. I have been a physician-scientist for almost five decades and science has only amplified and strengthened my Catholic faith, not diminished it.
DR. KEVIN LOUGHLIN
Boston, Massachusetts
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Acknowledge Commonwealth contributions to Allied war-effort
The article on Biden’s State of the Union message makes reference to President Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms Address of Jan. 6, 1941 and the first paragraph concludes with the dramatic statement that "Britain stood alone in the fight against Hitler" (ncronline.org, March 11).
For the sake of accuracy and your many Canadian readers, please remember that war on Germany was declared by:
New Zealand Sept. 3, 1939
Australia Sept. 3, 1939
Canada Sept. 10, 1939
Canada delayed declaration for a week in order to recall Parliament and entering the war was a Canadian decision not a result of the UK declaration (subsequent to constitutional change in the early 1930s). Nineteen-forty and 1941 were years of tremendous challenge: national mobilization, food production for the UK, and the rebuilding of an armaments industry.
The US did manage to funnel support to the UK (sometimes through Canada), and many Americans joined the Canadian forces prior to Dec. 1941.
MARIANNE MCLEAN
Perth, Ontario, Canada
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